Mike Rothery

Biography

Writing for me is an endless adventure into the imagination, a passion that whiles away the times between voyages, languishing at anchor or tied up in marinas in the Caribbean and Atlantic Islands. I don’t strive for 'Best Seller' status, just hope my books are read and enjoyed by others. My stories are life-affirming adventures, often with a seagoing theme, a strong psychological slant, and sometimes venturing into the supernatural. I always develop a personal relationship with my characters, whom I believe form the backbone of any good story.

A self-published author under my own imprint, Weatherdeck Books, I'm currently working on my seventh novel, a whimsical tale of a disaffected voodoo spirit who ventures into the human world to find answers. I also publish under the pen name of Amanda Wheelhouse.

Bio: Mike Rothery was born in 1949, in Yorkshire, England, and lived his first ten years at various military bases in France, Germany and Northern Ireland. The family returned to Yorkshire when his father retired from the RAF in 1960. Mike joined the Royal Navy in 1965 and served in various ships until 1990, when he embarked on a new career in software development. Retiring in 2010 he returned to the sea where he began his writing career. He now cruises the oceans in his yacht, Island Spirit.

Smashwords Interview

What motivated you to become an indie author?

There are two obvious parts to that question. I've always had the urge to write something more than short stories and travel journals, but my two earlier careers got in the way. So when I retired I had no more excuses and got right down to it. Going independent was a no-brainer really. The conventional route via an agent or a mainstream publisher is full of pitfalls an entails such a long lead time to publication. My experience of starting and running a business gave me the confidence to go it alone, so I simply set up my own imprint and distributed my work on the various indie sites. I realised from the start that the marketing side would be the most challenging and I'm still struggling with that. But if you want to be a successful indie author, you've just got to bite the bullet and do it.

What is the greatest joy of writing for you?

My single biggest joy, disregarding hubris, is seeing the story unfold as if you're reading something for the first time. Until I started my first full length novel I hadn't discovered the magic of not knowing what happens next, and then gasping with surprise at what appears on the page. While I'm in that creative bubble I frequently blurt out 'Gosh, I didn't expect that!' It's as if somebody is whispering in your ear what to write next.

NB Not for Profit: All royalties on this book are donated to UK Forces Charities.
Three sailors explore a remote island. A ghostly short story laced with military humour and poignant reflections; a moving tale with a macabre and fascinating twist

Oct 1983: A US destroyer discovers a man marooned for the past year on a deserted islet. When the ship reaches Grenada the former castaway disembarks to the strife-torn island to pursue his own personal agenda; to find his boat and the men who shot his girlfriend. Action-packed sequel to ‘Return to Africa’, a fast-moving thriller set against a background of political unrest, revolution and war.

A whimsical tale of myth and magic. Charlie has escaped the cares of modern life to a tropical island, but his Caribbean dream turns to nightmare when he meets Captain Josiah Patch, an irascible old sea gypsy with an astonishing secret.

An exciting and often harrowing story of a hapless sailor as he stumbles from crisis to desperate crisis; from high drama on the Indian Ocean, through disgrace and destitution, wanted in Kenya to face a murder charge, to a frantic race across the African savannah to flee armed kidnappers.

It is 1952 and mystery surrounds a patient in a Miami psychiatric ward who’s turned up naked at a voodoo burial rite claiming to come from the past. For psychologist Dani Corby, it’s a case of paranoid psychosis. But her professional judgement is challenged when she investigates the young man’s story and when her patient falls to a mysterious wasting disease she risks her career to save his life.